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San Jose—The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) announced today that three stations currently undergoing platform retrofit work will reopen for full passenger service early Saturday morning, April 12, 2008. Children’s Discovery Museum and Virginia stations are reopening two weeks earlier than previously announced, while Tamien Station, which remained partially open during construction, is reopening six weeks early.

Next up for retrofitting are the Branham, Curtner and Capitol stations, which will close for passenger service early Monday morning, April 14. All three scheduled to reopen by mid-June.

Substitute bus service, known as a “light rail bus bridge,” will offer alternate service for light rail riders who are either beginning or ending their trips at one of the three newly-closed stations, as trains will not stop at these locations. Passengers who are beginning and ending their trip at all other light rail stations will not be affected by the construction at Branham, Capitol and Curtner stations.

Service frequency for the “light rail bus bridge” mirrors that of light rail service. This means that during most hours of the day, the “light rail bus bridge” will run every 15 minutes. Passengers needing to use the substitute bus service should allow extra time to reach their destinations, however, as buses are not able to travel the same route as quickly as light rail trains.

VTA Customer Service, at (408) 321-2300, can provide customized trip planning services for anyone unsure of travel times during the closures. Also, a flyer explaining how to use the “light rail bus bridge” is available on VTA’s website: www.vta.org in the Service and Construction Notices section.

VTA is in the final phase of retrofitting its older light rail stations to eliminate an eight-inch step up from station platforms to light rail vehicles. Level boarding means mobility impaired individuals will no longer need to use lifts or ramps to board light rail vehicles. Level boarding also benefits commuters with bicycles, travelers with wheeled luggage, senior citizens with collapsible utility carts and parents with baby strollers, among others.

After work at the Branham, Capitol and Curtner stations is completed, the next phase of work will include the Ohlone/Chynoweth, Oakridge and Almaden stations. After that, Snell, Blossom Hill, Cottle and Santa Teresa stations will also undergo retrofitting, with all work completed by early next year, if not sooner.

About the Platform Retrofit Project

Information about the project can be obtained by visiting the project web page at: http://www.vta.org/projects/lowfloor_retrofit.html, or by calling VTA Community Outreach at (408) 321-7575. VTA Customer Service, at (408) 321-2300, can assist anyone with service-related questions.

About VTA

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning.   As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.   VTA provides services to cities throughout the county including Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale.

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About VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning. As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.

For more information about VTA services, call VTA Customer Service at (408) 321-2300, (408) 321-2330 (TDD only). Or, log on to www.vta.org.